Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 13

Thread: Where to start scouting?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    592

    Where to start scouting?

    I haven't hunted in years, and I want to get back into it. When I did hunt, it was basically road hunting with people who I thought were actual hunters. I was mistaken. Needless to say, I learned very little about hunting.

    As a newbie hunter, I'm beginning my scouting for this season now. I'm doing my best to avoid the farm fields and private land the majority of the people in my region of northern Alberta tend to hunt. I want to get off the beaten path and put some miles on my boots. Right now, I'm using a combination of Backroads Mapbooks and Google Earth to narrow down areas to start actively scouting.

    My question is when looking at terrain and satellite images, what features do you look for when it comes to deer habitat? Valleys, rivers, clear cuts, cut lines, meadows?

  2. Site Sponsor

  3. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    fraser valley
    Posts
    3,970

    Re: Where to start scouting?

    Mule deer bucks. Hit the ridges. Honestly hit the dirt road and just pull over and hike up hill. Amazing what you can find.

    Might help with what mu your hunting
    Originally Posted by lip_ripper00
    Don't argue with an idiot, you will be dragged down to his level and beaten by experiance
    Originally Posted by bearhunter338-06
    Problem is easy to fix........Sell Chevy buy Dodge problem fixed..................

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    592

    Re: Where to start scouting?

    Quote Originally Posted by r106 View Post
    Mule deer bucks. Hit the ridges. Honestly hit the dirt road and just pull over and hike up hill. Amazing what you can find.

    Might help with what mu your hunting
    I guess I should have specified. LOL. I'll be hunting primarily whitetail deer between Grande Prairie and Grande Cache but may wander as far south as Hinton, Alberta.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Posts
    2,537

    Re: Where to start scouting?

    Think you’d have a lot better luck on the Alberta forum tbh. Scouting over there is going to be a different ball game than scouting the interior mountains I’d imagine.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    592

    Re: Where to start scouting?

    Quote Originally Posted by RyoTHC View Post
    Think you’d have a lot better luck on the Alberta forum tbh. Scouting over there is going to be a different ball game than scouting the interior mountains I’d imagine.
    I've gotten a bit of info there. I like the crowd here much better though. LOL. I figured whitetail will behave similarly in BC or AB. I'm not really looking for specific areas, more the types of geography or landscape features I should be focusing on.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Victoia BC when not at work, otherwise up North
    Posts
    1,605

    Re: Where to start scouting?

    There are a few things in life you can count on. One of them are the majority of People including Hunters nowadays are Lazy.

    If you go off the beaten Path (which usually is a well worn ATV/ ORV or side by side trail) hike in on Foot you don't even have to goto far to get into prime hunting. spots.

    Find yourself spots were you can overlook large areas, hunt like a Wolf (allways under cover) and spend as much time behind your Binoculars as possible.

    Cheers

    * When the People fear the Government there is Tyranny, when the Government fears the people there is liberty.
    * Studies have shown, Vegetarians are poor providers !
    * We are told this is the Information age. Seems to me more like the missinfomation age !
    * Most always the soft spoken ones are the most deceiving and Dangerous !
    * The Law is no substitute for Morality !

    Be safe and happy Trails !

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Surrounded by Socialists
    Posts
    7,931

    Re: Where to start scouting?

    There used to be a decent amount of big whitetail bucks along the Athabasca between Hinton and Fox Vegas as the crow flies, but I think they had a brutal winter back in 2007 2008 and wiped a good number of them out, so I don't know what its like now - but used to be deer all over in that area. Tons of cutblocks of a variety of ages all in there so I 'd look for one where you can get a good vantage point and look down into. Or hike along the edge of the tree lines and look for trails/scat/old rubs etc. But now is definitely the right time to start scouting. Hang a trail came or as many as you can. Some of the biggest moose I've seen in there too. Decent bears all over. Did not see many elk or mulies. Did come across some wild horses. Nice area. Good fishing too if you're into that. OBED lake has giant Brown trout (and I mean really f_cking huge trout). Good luck
    "It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority." - Benjamin Franklin

    "The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it" - George Orwell

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    592

    Re: Where to start scouting?

    Quote Originally Posted by Harvest the Land View Post
    There used to be a decent amount of big whitetail bucks along the Athabasca between Hinton and Fox Vegas as the crow flies, but I think they had a brutal winter back in 2007 2008 and wiped a good number of them out, so I don't know what its like now - but used to be deer all over in that area. Tons of cutblocks of a variety of ages all in there so I 'd look for one where you can get a good vantage point and look down into. Or hike along the edge of the tree lines and look for trails/scat/old rubs etc. But now is definitely the right time to start scouting. Hang a trail came or as many as you can. Some of the biggest moose I've seen in there too. Decent bears all over. Did not see many elk or mulies. Did come across some wild horses. Nice area. Good fishing too if you're into that. OBED lake has giant Brown trout (and I mean really f_cking huge trout). Good luck
    Travelling that Fox Creek to Hinton road is something I want to do for sure. I've heard of Obed lake and it's on my list to fish for sure.

    I know of a few cutblocks, but I need to check them for vantage points. Due to all the oil and gas activity, wellsites and leases are everywhere. Do deer tend to avoid those due to the machinery or do they like the clearings created?

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    region 9
    Posts
    11,528

    Re: Where to start scouting?

    Quote Originally Posted by Outbound View Post
    I haven't hunted in years, and I want to get back into it. When I did hunt, it was basically road hunting with people who I thought were actual hunters. I was mistaken. Needless to say, I learned very little about hunting.

    As a newbie hunter, I'm beginning my scouting for this season now. I'm doing my best to avoid the farm fields and private land the majority of the people in my region of northern Alberta tend to hunt. I want to get off the beaten path and put some miles on my boots. Right now, I'm using a combination of Backroads Mapbooks and Google Earth to narrow down areas to start actively scouting.

    My question is when looking at terrain and satellite images, what features do you look for when it comes to deer habitat? Valleys, rivers, clear cuts, cut lines, meadows?
    They will use all the mentioned areas at one time or another for feeding, breeding, bedding, and water...hunt the sign...and a lot of the time, you will be in the right place - at the wrong time...that's hunting...

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    region 9
    Posts
    11,528

    Re: Where to start scouting?

    Quote Originally Posted by Outbound View Post
    I've gotten a bit of info there. I like the crowd here much better though. LOL. I figured whitetail will behave similarly in BC or AB. I'm not really looking for specific areas, more the types of geography or landscape features I should be focusing on.
    I find WT will behave on a somewhat more predictive schedule, which many times is determined by the geography/landscape, but also dictated by hunting pressure....

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •